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AFGE, Local 3937 - Local Membership Meeting November 12, 2025 Conference Call Present were: Local members John Pfannenstein, Laura Novakoski, Adam Neff, Jackie Walton, Ross Tewksbury, Jacob Miller, Joseph Otterbine, Kristine Green, Janet Azinger, Denise Lamphere, Kristine Stolberg, and Deborah Moore. We also welcomed members Tyra, Shawn, Sophia and Tahirah from outside our Local, who requested to participate for informational purposes regarding the shutdown. The meeting was held via Zoom conference call with dial-in information posted to the Members section of our Local website. The meeting was called to order at 5:30pm, chaired by John Pfannenstein, Local President. Agenda:
Jackie reported to the Executive Board today that we have $115,738 in the checking account, and $177,454 in savings. Detailed Treasurer’s information is available on request. The Dept of Labor and IRS forms for the year have both been filed, and we look good financially. As a reminder, please be aware that if you are a member who has transitioned from payroll dues deduction into eDues payment of your membership dues and if you are having any double-billing problems during this changeover please let our Treasurer know. Unfortunately, the HR people handling these issues were mostly furloughed during the shutdown, so this has affected response times. Some AFGE agencies have seen their bargaining agreements (contracts) changed to remove the ability to pay dues via payroll, which is why AFGE National has encouraged members to switch over to eDues; fortunately, we have not seen this happen in SSA. It is completely up to each of you which method you are most comfortable with. Old Business: None. New Business: Shutdown – is the biggest issue for us currently. The Senate worked to pass a bill that would go to the House next, and then to the President to sign, so that we can reopen. The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act (2019) will trigger backpay for the 2.5+ paychecks we’ve missed since the shutdown began. Our last shutdown was partial, and we were funded under appropriations, and the last full shutdown was short enough that we didn’t experience the interruption and tomfoolery we’ve gone through this time around. We have raised concerns with the Council about all the various WebTA coding instructions and whether that may delay our payment once we reopen. Council 220 leadership will join a conference call tomorrow midday that should bring clarification on the timeframe and what the Agency has communicated. We are of course behind in our many suspended and delayed workloads (RZs, Work CDRs, etc). Please be aware that FY2025 PACS will be delayed; if any comments or evaluations of your performance during the current funding lapse are mentioned, let management know that those items should not be included in the fiscal year 2025 report (and of course many seemingly negative “performance” issues during the shutdown are not actually the fault of the employee, and therefore should not be included even in next year’s PACS). Employees who may have received AWOL letters due to being unable to report to the office in person during the shutdown, due to financial hardship or other reasons, should have them rescinded. We were also told that leave hours that may exceed the usual annual cap (Use or Lose) due to the shutdown would remain in the employee's bank or otherwise not be lost. If any of this applies to you and is not fixed or you are harmed, please let us know so we can assist you. We could see this end as soon as tomorrow or later in the week! Reports: Elections – our Local will be holding the election process for Executive Board officer positions over the next two months, and we encourage everyone to participate, whether by voting or by nominating for one of the open positions. Our Secretary, Laura Novakoski, has retired from the agency and will be leaving the Secretary position at the end of this year. John made a motion that the body advise him as Local President to give Laura the honorary title of Secretary Emeritus of Local 3937, in appreciation of her decades of work both as a member, a steward, and an officer. Jackie made the suggested motion; Adam seconded. Discussion and reminiscing of her time in service to the Local ensued. Laura abstained from the vote, and the motion passed. Open Floor / Miscellaneous: We offered a Q&A session on issues that members may have during open discussion. The shutdown took up most of our energy on tonight’s meeting so there were no general topics here. Minutes Review: Jackie made a motion that we accept the minutes as written and read; Denise seconded. Motion passed. You can stay informed about topics like these and much more by going to www.afge.org to sign up for Action Alerts to be sent via text or email so that you are informed of current legislative and political events – please do so on your personal computer or phone, not on duty time or on Agency equipment. Laura moved to adjourn; Jackie seconded. Motion passed. The meeting ended at 6:20pm. Minutes written and submitted, for the last time in her tenure, by Laura Novakoski. |
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